Municipal News & Jobs

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday selected Majed Al-Ghafry to serve as the next city manager following contract negotiations led by city staff. Mayor Brad Finkeldei said Al-Ghafry’s background and experience fit the bill for Lawrence’s city manager position. “Beyond his education, his experiences in public works, economic development and management of large and complex projects in multiple cities will serve Lawrence well in the coming years as we move into what I call the execution phase of our planned growth,” Finkeldei said. Vice Mayor Mike Courtney echoed Finkeldei’s sentiments.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

City commissioners approved changes to the city’s dog ordinance in a 4-1 vote, replacing breed-specific regulations with a behavior-based framework. All commissioners were present for the vote and Mike Skidmore cast the opposing vote. Ottawa City Attorney Blaine Finch presented the proposed changes, outlining both the reasoning behind the updates and the structure of the revised ordinance.
Read more: The Ottawa Herald

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt provided three tips at a townhall. Schmidt advises communities that data center developers should not require tax abatements. Data centers should source their power from new or supplemental sources to avoid raising local utility costs. Modern data centers can be designed as closed systems that do not consume large amounts of water.
Read more: CJonline

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

Tornado Alley since the early 1950s has dissected the central Great Plains, including the states of Nebraska, central Oklahoma, northwestern Texas and Kansas.
Read more: CJonline

To count the acreage in a unit of real property held by tenants in common towards a zoning protest petition under K.S.A. 12-757(f)(1), all tenants in common must sign the petition.
Read the opinion: Prairiewood Holdings, LLC v. Board Of Riley County Commissioners

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

Nearly 400 cyclists will travel 550 miles across Kansas over eight days, starting Saturday.
Read more: View the Biking Across Kansas Map

The farm would generate enough energy to power more than 30,000 homes, according to the developer.
Read more: KSN-TV

Beltline Energy representative Ryan Sanders told the crowd that because of regulations the company would not use local aquifers for their main source of water. Beltline is trying to secure land and gain local government approval in Pottawatomie County for a large-scale data center that would represent a $15 billion investment for the region. One of the options for water use Beltline is exploring is the use of trucks to both truck water into the facility and take water waste out.
Read more: themercury.com

The new city rules, if approved, include a long list of requirements for the residential-design modular homes, making them comply with similar rules for homes built on-site. They would be required to have exterior finishes similar to site-built homes and they would be subject to city inspections.
Read more: AV News

For decades, Lawrence’s mayor has been elected by the five members of the Lawrence City Commission. Some community leaders are questioning whether simply allowing Lawrence residents to vote for a mayor – perhaps once every four years – might be a better way.
Read more: LJWorld

The city of Derby says it is aware of some of the social media posts about people going down really fast. They are looking at what they can do, but there’s one thing they can’t control.
Read more: KWCH

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

City commissioners will consider opposing a petition for incorporating the city of Green Valley in Pottawatomie County. On March 26, the Pott County clerk received a petition to incorporate Green Valley. On June 11, the Pottawatomie Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the petition. Manhattan city commissioners on Tuesday will vote on a resolution that labels the incorporation as inadvisable under state law. The commission will also vote on an agreement with the state of Kansas for $300,000 in grant funding to develop an operational technology master plan for improving cybersecurity.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

Concerns about the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus dominated Wednesday’s Emporia City Commission meeting as a large crowd of residents voiced opposition to the project and the annexation of land associated with the proposed development.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

Emporia is a city known for several different things: gravel cycling, drinking water, and now walkability. In a list published by the website walkscore.com, Emporia was named the most walkable city in Kansas with a walk score of 45 out of 100. That score places Emporia at the top of a list of 24 cities in the Sunflower State, ahead of cities including Lawrence, Manhattan and Wichita. The website uses the distance of walking routes to popular amenities, pedestrian friendliness, population density and certain road measurements to determine a score measuring the walkability of cities across the U.S. and Canada.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

Heading into its second year, the Hesston Farmer’s Market looks to expand on the overwhelming success of the first year. With the first installment happening on June 3, the endeavor helps fill a hole left by the lack of a grocery store in Hesston, and this year, a study will be conducted to see if a farm-fresh market using ideas from the farmer’s market could be feasible. This study is being done by the Healthy Harvey Coalition and the United Way, with an idea if the market could be sustainable in a brick-and-mortar location both during the season and off-season.
Read more: Harvey County Now